Financial Performance and Efficiency of Corporate Farms in Northwest Russia

• Main Author: David Epshtein
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Northwest Russia
• Online Access: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ces/journal/v47/n1/pdf/8100085a.pdf; http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ces/journal/v47/n1/full/8100085a.html

The corporate farms in Leningrad Oblast are classified into five solvency groups by an index of financial health based on the coverage of farm costs by sales revenue. The two highest solvency groups containing 35% of the oblast farms produce 75% of sales and generate 90% of profit. They rapidly grow by investing in machinery and equipment and can be regarded as having fully adapted to the new market conditions. Their production efficiency is significantly higher than the efficiency of less solvent farms. A regression analysis shows that 50% of the variability in the financial health of Leningrad farms is explained by management quality, while another 30% is explained by farm size (farms employing more labour and more land are characterized by higher solvency). Comparative Economic Studies (2005) 47, 188–199. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100085